This handout photo provided by the Smithsonian shows a dress designed by Indian-American designer Naeem Khan for first lady Michelle Obama. It was worn to the 2012 Governors Dinner and is now on display at the Smithsonian’s first major exhibit: “Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation” on Indian-American influences in U.S. history. Khan has designed several dresses for Mrs. Obama. The exhibit opens Thursday. (AP Photo/Smithsonian)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Indian-Americans are doctors, engineers, motel owners, taxi drivers and spelling bee champs — just a few takeaways from a new exhibition at the Smithsonian.

Looking closer, though, curators are probing the history behind certain cultural stereotypes of this population of 3.3 million Americans in a new exhibit opening Thursday.

The influx of Indian doctors, for example, began in the 1960s as the U.S. needed more physicians for its new Medicare system, and immigration law opened the door to those with medical training. Later, the American inventors of Hotmail, the Pentium Login to read more